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Maine Sunday Telegram - SKIING

 

 

 

 

 

Mount Abram Liars Race

"social event of the season”

If you want first place in this ski race, you better have the biggest wad of cash – not the fastest time through the gates. This is a pay-to-play event called the Liars Race.

Mount Abram’s ski patrol hosts this annual race followed by a lively après ski auction in the Loose Boots Lounge. Having attended this rather raucous benefit bash last season, I can report that the patrollers combine hearty laughter with serious dough-raising. $14,700 was raised at the auction last February.

“We started this event eight years ago to raise funds for equipment and medical supplies,” said Pete Preble, a nine-year ski patroller at Mount Abram. “We decided to have the race and auction during February vacation, and we have fun with the fact that the “Liars Race” is on Presidents Weekend.”

“The patrol auction is the high point of the year here socially,” said Josh Burns, owner of Mount Abram.

“We have a lot of fun with this auction and race, but we are very dedicated to what we do,” said Jim Ryan, a Mount Abram patroller for 15 years. “It takes a lot to become a patroller, continuous education and training.

“Within our group we have a Doctor, several business owners, a lobsterman, a civil engineer, and the director of Maine wilderness,” said Ryan. “We are a core group, we are married to the sport, and to the mountain.”

They are the only self-funded ski patrol in the state, and of the twenty patrollers, all but three are volunteers.

“We work at the discretion of the mountain and the owners,” said Ryan, who has seen five sets of owners during his tenure at Mount Abram. “We help keep the skiing prices down, by lowering the bottom line. At ski areas, all the services help bring in money - the rental shop, the food service, they all bring in revenue. But not ski patrol; there is no revenue, only expenses.”

“Thanks to this event, we have completely replaced our fleet of rescue toboggans, obtained new lift evacuation equipment, and renovated our patrol facilities in the past four years,” said Preble.

“I believe we are the best equipped patrol in the state of Maine, said patroller Warren Michaelson. “We are one of very few ski areas equipped with an AED (automatic defibrillator) due to this fund raiser.”

“This auction is a big deal, we have people who fly in from across the country for it each year. Many of the donated items come from our owners, Josh and Sue Burns. They are the flame behind us,” said Ryan.

In fact, the Burns donate the naming of a trail with a sign each year. “Last year, the Patrol Director bought it, so the trail is currently named Abby Road for his daughter,” said Pete Preble. “That will be up for bid again, along with a bunch of other donated items and services.”

Josh Burns has a sweet spot for auctions, since he purchased the struggling ski area at auction in November of 2000 so that his wife and two children could ski more.

Burns said, “Just prior to that, Susan was considering being an ambassador at Sunday River so that we could have family ski benefits.”

The Burns are now in their fourth season of ownership. Burns said he and his wife are “very much of a team, and she is a fantastic skier.”

Each year’s Liars Race takes place at Mount Abram on February vacation week. Contestants can race for actual times and be listed on the official winners t-shirt in the “Good Guys” category.

If you prefer to let your money buy your time, you can purchase first, second or third place in men’s and women’s division at the auction and be listed on the “Liars” side of the printed t-shirt. According to Preble, last year’s first place in the Liars Race went for a few hundred dollars.

The real winner of the women’s race is awarded the Sandy Fitch Cup, in memory of the long time patroller whose husband and daughter continue to work at Mt Abram.

The Dave Gilpatrick Cup is given to the men’s race winner in memory of the former patrol director.